The Tale of Two Chidambarams

March 12, 1908 – Chidambaram Arrested

The District Collector of Tirunelveli summoned Thiru Chidambaram for anti-government propaganda, shouting slogans and sailing ships. Thiru Chidambaram faced the Collector with defiance and was arrested on March 12, 1908. News of Thiru Chidambaram’s arrest spread like wildfire and students took out processions. Armed police had to maintain law and order.

Thiru Chidambaram’s case was heard on March 26th and the verdict given was forty years of life imprisonment in the cellular jail, Andamans. The Secretary of State Lord Morley appealed to Lord Minto, the Viceroy to reduce the sentence as such a severe sentence was meant for criminals and unjustified for Thiru Chidambaram. The sentence was reduced to six years of rigorous imprisonment. 🙄

Thiru Chidambaram broke stones, turned the oil press replacing the bull for hours in return for a thin gruel of Ragi. He never complained. Meanwhile, his shipping company, The Swadeshi Steamship Company, was shut down as it couldn’t face the competition from its British counterpart. His prized possession, the ships were sold… he promised to pay back all the creditors.

Thiru Chidambaram was released from the Cellular Jail in Dec 1912. He used up all his wealth to pay for the losses of The Swadeshi Steamship Company. He restarted his life from scratch as a lawyer but couldn’t make ends meet.

Tamilians lovingly call him “Kappal Otiya Tamizhan” – the Tamilian who steered ships.

Aug 21, 2019 – The Other Chidambaram Arrested

Two years back on Aug 21, 2019 the news headlines screamed – Chidambaram Arrested ! The man arrested was the ex-home minister, a Harvard educated, uber rich lawyer from the same state as Thiru Chidambaram. The similarity ends there.

I took the above screenshot just now because the date is significant – Sept 6, 2019. The great freedom fighter Thiru V O Chidambaram Pillai’s 147th birthday and a vile man, his namesake went to Tihar Jail in independent India as an economic offender 🤬. The above picture also gives me immense satisfaction. Just for making this anti-national corrupt vile politician to sit in a police van like a regular convict is one more reason why I will vote for Mr. Modi.

This vile vindictive b@$t@&d Chidu had the audacity to ask for “better” facilities !!!! Just like his icon, the first PM of independent India used to get curtains of his choice when his friends locked him up in jail for a few days 🙄.

The need for a New India

This blog was triggered by a picture that got tweeted yesterday –

This is what is wrong with India since 1947. We have forgotten all hose who fought for our independence long before Mahatma Gandhi and Chacha Nehru appeared on the scene.

Krishnan and I along with Amma and Appa visited the cellular jail in 1995. We have seen the oil press that Thiru V O Chidambaram Pillai, Veer Savarkar, Baburao Savarkar, Batukeshwar Dutt, Sohan Singh, Sachindra Nath Sanyal and several others had been made pull….. Tears are no substitute for their sacrifice. Remembering them and honouring their families is the true Shraddhanjali.

Recognise all those Indians incarcerated at the Cellular Jail by the British as martyrs and freedom fighters. Rename cities, roads and other important buildings after them. There are more than 450 buildings/institutions/awards etc named after the Nehru dynasty. Rename them with the names of the 1000s that died for our country at the cellular jail.

Appeal to PM Modi – Please ensure that families of freedom fighters like Thiru V O Chidambaram get a lifetime pension that allows them to lead a life of dignity. That’s the least we can do as a token repayment of gratitude 🙏🏾.

Modiji, please launch a new Prayaschit-Pension-Scheme – The ex-inmate of Tihar jail VOC’s namesake, Chara-Chor still-an-inmate Lalu Yadav and Desh-Bhakti-paralysed Poor farmer Pawar etc can fund it as “prayaschit” for all their “Paapa”.

After Notes

We have a Minto Bridge in memory of Lord Minto, the Viceroy of British India but nothing in the country’s capital named after Kappal Otiya Tamizhan. This is how history is distorted – most children would think, Minto, an invader and coloniser is a great man while the truly great son of the soil VOC is wiped out of memory. 😣

Read – 10 things about the Cellular jail at Andaman and Nicobar Islands that you did not know.